


Bolero

by DontKillBugs



Series: Weblena Week Prompts! [3]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Body Possession, F/F, Grand Theft Me, Happy-ish anyway, bodyjacking, descriptions of someone having their neck snapped, lena can't catch a break, magica's in terror and it's not even satisfying, shadow monster angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 12:29:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16326263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontKillBugs/pseuds/DontKillBugs
Summary: Hot on the trail of the fugitive Magica, Clan McDuck is led to Clan De Spell's ancestral home. However, as they search, Lena accidentally awakens something buried deep below the estate.Magica is terrifying. But there's always a bigger fish in the sea.Weblena Week 2018, Day Three: Shadow





	Bolero

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r30D3SW4OVw
> 
> This fic is titled after and dedicated to the piece that inspired me to write this.
> 
> This was also an experiment of sorts, as this is my first time writing proper angst. I hope you enjoy.

It was a sight that would haunt Webby for years to come.

Even now, the events continued to play and replay in her head.

Clan McDuck had arrived via the Sunchaser at a castle in the Italian countryside. Following some investigation on Scrooge's part, they had been led here.

The De Spell Estate. Ancestral home of the archenemies of Clan McDuck. Once the headquarters and haven for a lineage of mad witches and warlocks, now a decrepit ruin, rotting in on itself.

It was here that Scrooge's investigator had tracked none other than Magica De Spell. A year and a half on the run, and of on-again-off-again battles and near misses and narrow escapes on both sides parts had caused the witch to run to ground. Scrooge had mobilized the Sunchaser quickly- time was short, and who knew how long Magica would be before getting too jumpy and deciding to run.

Lena had insisted on coming.

Scrooge had almost insisted on her staying behind.

In the end, the McDuck family pride won out, as it always had. Magica had been depowered, and was at the end of the road. It would surely be a cinch to apprehend her.

So Lena had rode along, just as she always did these days. Webby had sat next to her in the Sunchaser, as she always did. The two had cuddled closely, as they did almost constantly since giving Lena her body back.

It hadn't been easy, ripping a sentient shadow from the Space Between Spaces and giving it a body. It had taken half a year of work, and the depletion of some incredibly rare materials. But it had worked. The operation was a success, so to speak.

And now, here Lena was, alongside Clan McDuck, ready to finally drag her Aunt kicking and screaming to justice.

When they entered, it was agreed by the party to split up into two teams and search the castle. Scrooge would head one group, Beakley would head the other. Straws were drawn for who went with who. Webby wound up on Team Scrooge, alongside Dewey and Donald. Lena was with Beakley, as were Huey and Louie. A good-natured oh-well shrug from the both of them.

Webby had kissed Lena on the cheek for what had wound up being the last time. She thought about that a lot during the time that came after.

Team Beakley's search route eventually led them to the castle's library. It was dusty, musty, and filled with ancient cobwebs. A layer of grime covered everything. Perhaps, in another time, had the castle been newer and cleaner, Beakley could have spotted the hidden pressure plate before Lena stepped on it.

The floor slid open, and Lena had plummeted down a hidden chute, the floor sliding closed above her. For perhaps a second, she heard her family shouting for her as she fell, before being spat out into a hidden chamber, deep below the castle.

Lena leapt to her feet. The room was small, with only an ancient oak chest on one end, and a massive door on the other.

She examined the door closely. No handle on her side. Fantastic. She banged loudly on the door. "Hello! Anyone! I'm down here! Lemme out already!"

_Click._

She froze.

_Click._

She turned slowly.

_Click._

The chest on the other end of the room was opening slowly. On the front of the chest was a skull, with a pair of large emeralds set into its eyes.

The lid was opening. From within the chest, a sickly green glow was emanating.

Lena raised both hands, defensive auras at the ready. Whatever this thing was, she could take it.

And then the chest opened.

And ye Gods, it was so big. It was so much bigger than her, and so much more powerful than her, than Magica, than anything she had ever seen, and it was still getting bigger, and the green glow was piercing into her eyes, blinding her, and and and and and

 

 

 

Time passed.

 

 

 

 

Eventually, Team Beakley had found the castle's wine cellar. Huey was the first to hear the pounding, the shouting coming from behind one of the wine racks.

It was Lena's voice, begging and pleading to be let out.

Beakley had pulled the massive rack away from the wall with one mighty heave, revealing the sealed door hidden behind it. In hindsight, her rush to free Lena had blinded her to the mechanisms surrounding the door, inspection of which would have revealed that this door was intended to remain closed.

This was something that had been intended to be forgotten.

But none of this mattered to Beakley, who had pulled the door from its hinges with one mighty yank.

An enormous magical blast had thrown her across the wine cellar, along with the rest of Team Beakley. Beakley, half-dazed, shoved the heavy vault door off of her, only for her vision to be filled with a sickly green glow.

A magical blast rocked the castle.

Team Scrooge had paused in their search, glancing nervously. The walls shook, and debris fell from the ceiling, but the architecture held.

And then, almost comically, Magica De Spell emerged from the room just ahead of them, eyes wide in fear, not even registering her hunters before her.

Webby had tackled her to the ground, launching a solid one-two punch into her beak. Much to her dissatisfaction, Magica barely seemed to notice. Magica looked at Scrooge from her position on the floor.

"Scrooge. What. Did. You. Do."

Another magical blast, far larger than the last, echoed from below. Following that, the panicked, echoed shouts of Beakley and the boys. Scrooge had quickly hoisted Magica to her feet, and bound her wrists with a pair of good old-fashioned handcuffs.

"March, ye hag." He had croaked.

\---

The main hall of the De Spell Estate was a war zone.

Beakley, Huey, and Louie took cover behind a fallen column as deadly blasts of magic and fire rained down around them. Huey and Louie cowered in her arms, wrapped around them.

Scrooge and company emerged from the upper balcony. Almost instantly, the magical barrage stopped.

Scrooge looked down to Beakley. "What's goin' on? What's happened?"

Webby appeared at the railing next to him, eyes wide. "Granny, where's Lena?!"

Scrooge heard a low, keening moan from behind him. Magica was pressed as far back against the wall as she could, eyes wide in- he was amazed- honest-to-goodness fear. No, fear was too weak- this was panic.

"It's him. It's him, it's him, oh gods, it's him..."

Dewey, at Scrooge's other side at the balcony railing, suddenly pointed at a doorway on the ground floor, where the magical barrage had been coming from. "Guys! _Look!"_

The monster appeared.

It was clad in green sneakers, a striped sweater. A streak of recently retouched pink colored its bangs. A thin, sadistic grin stretched across its beak.

Webby's eyes widened. She didn't understand. "Lena? What's wrong? What's going on?"

Scrooge felt his heart plummet into her stomach. He had seen that look on that face before, on the day of the Shadow War. He swallowed the dreadful lump in his throat. "Lass. That's not Lena."

Lena turned her gaze up to the balcony. Her eyes were a bile green. She grinned. "Ah! There you are." She raised her left hand.

Behind Scrooge, Magica suddenly began to float into the air. She kicked and struggled, but was dragged down to the ground floor, suddenly face-to-face with the girl she had abused for years.

She swallowed. "P-p-p-p-Poe! I-I-I missed you! I missed you so much!"

Lena smiled even wider, a smile that was hideously out of place on her. "Did you now, dear sister? And here I thought you and papa sealed me away because of something I said."

Webby's breath caught in her throat. She and Scrooge shared a look. Both of them knew that name.

Poe De Spell. Shame of the De Spell lineage. Pioneer in the fields of mind control and necromancy. Disappeared without a trace over a hundred years ago. Reports conflicted as to his fate.

Some said he had successfully become a lich, and was sealed with his phylactery beneath the De Spell Estate.

Others said he had made a bargain with something from the beyond, and was granted power beyond power in exchange for his servitude.

Webby felt as if she were about to crack into a thousand pieces. Everything hurt, her heart most of all.

She had just gotten her best friend back.

And now she was gone again. Her body once again used as a puppet for some mad sorcerer.

The thing wearing Lena as a meatsuit cocked Lena's head to the side. "Huh. Your magic is gone, sister dear. What a pity." It leaned up into Magica's face. "I was hoping to remove it from you. Still, I have to thank you, Magica. I've been poking through this vessel's memories, and I've seen what you've been up to. You crafted me a perfect homunculus to take possession of!"

Magica was breathing heavily. "Poe. Poe, please. I'm sorry. Please, have mercy." Webby realized that, incredibly, Magica De Spell, the Shadow Queen, the Dark Shadow Lying In Wait, was begging for her life.

The Monster raised Lena's hand. Webby felt the bottom fall out of her stomach as Lena's friendship bracelet slid down her wrist.

"Thank you, Magica. And ta-ta."

There was a sickening _crack_ as Magica's head suddenly twisted 180 degrees. The witch suddenly fell still. The monster lowered Lena's hand, and Magica's corpse slid to the ground with a meaty _thud._

The next few minutes were a blur to Webby. Adrenaline kicked in, and instincts overrode self-preservation.

Running at the thing wearing Lena as a suit, tears burning her eyes, blurring her vision.

Being thrown across the room. Then picked up and thrown again, and again.

The crack of bones breaking in her arm.

Forcing herself up anyway.

Blasts of magic and flame hurtling all around her.

Shouts of rage from her family, all fighting the thing that had taken control of her friend.

Scrooge bellowing in rage, fighting Poe-in-Lena with his cane.

Webby hurling herself at the Monster again.

Being thrown yet again.

Laying on her side, arm in agony, tears in her eyes, blood in her mouth, staring at the wall before her. Shadows and silhouettes flickered, lighting up constantly from the blasts and the fire.

For just one second-

was that-

no.

No.

Of course it wasn't.

Webby lay there, motionless.

Lena. Her girlfriend. Lena. Her best friend. Lena. Lena.

Dead.

Gone.

Erased.

 

 

 

Eventually, someone ordered a tactical retreat.

Beakley had carried her onto the Sunchaser, kicking and screaming, both with tears in their eyes.

The Sunchaser, flying up into the clouds, the burning De Spell Estate below them.

Webby sat there, on the floor, wrapped in her granny's arms, feeling dead, wishing she were dead.

She was dimly aware of everyone weeping around her.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie, holding Donald tightly.

Scrooge, sitting alone, staring at his broken cane, snapped into two pieces.

Launchpad, up in the pilot's seat, wiping an eye with one hand, forcing himself to fly the plane, to flee the monster piloting her friend's corpse.

Webby didn't move for the entire trip. There was no point. The light had gone from her world. The entire world seemed more drab and grey now.

Eventually, after an eternity, the Sunchaser landed at McDuck Manor.

Scrooge stood up, sighing deeply. "Everyone get some rest. Tomorrow we'll..." a sob wracked his body. "...I don't know what we'll do."

As the plane's backdoor opened, the exit lights in the plane's cargo bay turned on. A pair of bright bulbs, illuminating the darkness in the plane's interior.

Scrooge froze. He stared at Beakley and Webby.

No, beyond them. At the wall.

"Bentina. Put Webby down and walk away from that wall."

Beakley looked up at him. "Mr. McDuck, I hardly think now is the time-"

" _NOW!"_ Scrooge yelled suddenly, his voice cracking. Everyone jumped, shocked at the sudden turn. With wide eyes, Beakley and Webby looked at each other. Beakley stood up, and took a few steps back.

Scrooge dashed to the wall, and turned on another light, pointed directly at Webby. She took a step back, raising an arm to shield her eyes.

Scrooge stared, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing. He pointed behind Webby. "Lass. Look."

Webby turned.

On the wall, her shadow was bent over, despite her standing upright. It writhed and wriggled, as Webby stared, mouth agape. Clan McDuck watched as slowly, painfully, the shadow forced itself together. Hands becoming defined, a beak, grown-out bangs-

Webby rushed to the wall and slammed her hands on either side of the shadow. With a voice and determination none of them had ever heard from her before: "LENA! YOU CAN DO IT! WE'RE ALL HERE SO DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP! COME ON, LENA!"

Scrooge joined her at her side. "Come on, lass! Ye can do it!"

With one mighty strain of effort, the shadow's shape became perfectly defined. She screamed as she rose to her knees, a scream of effort and pain and despair.

Lena, a shadow once again, wept as a pair of glowing eyes manifested where her head was. Great, howling sobs wracked her, as she bent double on the wall.

Webby reached out and placed her hand flat on the wall against Lena's back. Scrooge did the same, next to her.

Around her, six other hands extended pass her to rest against the wall, as the rest of Lena's family drew near.

Scrooge leaned in, and spoke softly. "We're here, lass. We're here with ye."

Lena moaned, all hope gone from her voice. "I was out... I was out..."

Webby, unable to stop herself any longer, leaned her head against the wall, against Lena, and wept with her. Tears of grief, tears of joy, tears of horror and relief, all came crashing out of her.

Scrooge spoke up, a fire in his voice. "Now listen, yew two. If Lena's alive and present with us, then we still have a chance. Lena, lass, we can get yer body back."

Lena raised her head slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"Yer body is still out there, it's just being piloted by a maniac. And if Poe De Spell forced himself in, we can force him out."

Webby's eyes widened. From her left, Dewey stammered "Y-yeah! That's right, we can!"

Scrooge, glancing at the light on the opposite wall, positioned himself so his shadow was hugging Lena. "We saved ye once, lass, and we can save ye again. Yer a McDuck, Lena. Yer family, and that's never gonna change."

Webby smiled, tears still in her eyes. "It's gonna take a lot more than some lich or whatever to keep us apart, Lena."

Lena, eyes wide, stared at them. Eventually, she pressed herself against the wall where Webby's forehead rested. "Webby... I love you so much..."

Webby smiled. "I love you too. Don't you ever forget that."

Eventually, someone fished out the flashlight from the emergency kit. Webby angled it so Lena was able to slide off the wall and pool around her feet. Keeping the flashlight on and walking slowly, Webby and family exited the Sunchaser.

Webby and Lena, a girl and her shadow, headed for home. Together again, never really having been apart.


End file.
